Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N9/00—Enzymes; Proenzymes; Compositions thereof; Processes for preparing, activating, inhibiting, separating or purifying enzymes
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C14—SKINS; HIDES; PELTS; LEATHER
  • C14C—CHEMICAL TREATMENT OF HIDES, SKINS OR LEATHER, e.g. TANNING, IMPREGNATING, FINISHING; APPARATUS THEREFOR; COMPOSITIONS FOR TANNING
  • C14C1/00—Chemical treatment prior to tanning
  • C14C1/06—Facilitating unhairing, e.g. by painting, by liming
  • C14C1/065—Enzymatic unhairing
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
  • C11D—DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
  • C11D3/00—Other compounding ingredients of detergent compositions covered in group C11D1/00
  • C11D3/16—Organic compounds
  • C11D3/38—Products with no well-defined composition, e.g. natural products
  • C11D3/386—Preparations containing enzymes, e.g. protease or amylase
  • C11D3/38663—Stabilised liquid enzyme compositions
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N9/00—Enzymes; Proenzymes; Compositions thereof; Processes for preparing, activating, inhibiting, separating or purifying enzymes
  • C12N9/96—Stabilising an enzyme by forming an adduct or a composition; Forming enzyme conjugates

Definitions

• the present invention relates to liquid enzyme preparations comprising an anhydrous organic liquid as a vehicle for an enzyme, suitably together with an additive modifying the rheology of the composition, and to methods for making leather employing such preparation.
• IE industrial enzymes
• amylase gamma-aminobutyrotransaminase
• cellulase collagenase
• glucose oxidase glutamic acid decarboxylase
• hemicellulase invertase
• catalase lipase
• pectinase penicillase
• protease and streptokinase, among others.
• the media in which the enzymes occurring in nature are active are predominantly aqueous media, where a certain dependence on the pH value and on the dissolved constituents of the aqueous medium is frequently observed, and the aqueous medium may therefore be regarded as the standard medium in enzymatic reactions.
• enzymes are polypeptides whose activity depends primarily on their structural organization and which, like other proteins, can also be denatured by certain organic solvents, caution has always been indicated in the use of organic solvents together with enzymes.
• liquid preparations In handling chemical agents, and especially in proportioning them, it is often considered an advantage when they are present in liquid form. As a rule, incorporating liquid preparations into liquid reaction media entails fewer problems than admixing powders or other solids. This is true also of enzyme preparations.
• liquid enzyme preparations in particular pose many problems. The most important of these has to do with the the stability of such enzyme preparations.
• enzymes in an aqueous medium are subject to the influence of other constituents of the medium, such as acids, bases, salts, surface-active and complexing components, other macromolecules, and particularly other enzymes, the substrates on which the enzymes act, and so forth.
• Such additives may have either a stabilizing or a destabilizing effect.
• stabilizing additives for certain enzymes in aqueous solutions glycols, polyglycols, surfactants, proteins and protein hydrolyzates, synthetic polymers, carboxylic acids, specific cations or anions and the like have been proposed, for example.
• liquid enzyme preparations have failed so far to gain commercial acceptance.
• liquid enzyme formulations (a) which are stable under the conditions of use, (b) in which the activity of the enzymes preferably is not affected or not irreversibly affected, (c) which are compatible with the intended end-use areas of the enzymes, and (d) which are economically and ecologically acceptable.
• the loss of activity of such a so-called liquid enzyme should not exceed 15 percent over a period of from four to six months.
• the invention relates to liquid enzyme formulations for technical use wherein the vehicle for the enzymes is at least one substantially anhydrous organic liquid or a mixture of such liquids.
• Suitable liquids for this purpose are liquids which are consonant with the above requirements, are advantageously in common use, and preferably are ecologically safe and in particular substantially nontoxic and noninjurious to enzymes.
• the organic liquids to be used in accordance with the invention are preferably hydrocarbons, but may contain oxygen or, less preferably, sulfur. Liquids of the formula (I)
• R 1 and R 2 are preferred, wherein, when X is carbonyl, R 1 and R 2 are the same or different alkyl having 1 to 3 carbon atoms. If X is COO, then R 1 and R 2 are the same or different alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms or R 1 is hydrogen and R 2 is such alkyl. If X is oxygen or sulfur, R 2 is hydrogen or alkyl having 1 to 8 carbon atoms and R 1 may be alkyl having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, or is ##STR1## in which R 3 is hydrogen, --CH 3 or --CH 2 OH, or R 1 is --(CH 2 --CH 2 O) n --H, where n is an integer from 1 to 15.
• R 1 and R 2 may also each be --CH 2 --CH 2 OH.
• R 1 and R 2 taken together with an oxygen or sulfur atom therebetween, may form a 5- or 6- membered ring in which all ring members are --CH 2 --, except that one such ring member may be carbonyl (C ⁇ O) and one further such ring member may be oxygen.
• Additional liquids include those of the formula (II) ##STR2## wherein R 5 is --CH 3 or --CH ⁇ CH 2 .
• liquids of formula (I) are particularly carbonic esters, and more particularly cyclic carbonic esters such as ethylene carbonate and, specifically, propylene carbonate.
• polyhydric alcohols such as glycerol, ethylene glycol, butyl glycol, butyl diglycol, diethylene glycol, polyethylene glycols (MW at least 400), liquid polypropylene glycols, and etherified derivatives thereof; monovalent alcohols or fatty alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, isobutanol, 2-ethyl hexanol, and cyclohexanol; ethers such as diethylether, methoxypropanol, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and particularly cyclic ethers such as dioxan and tetrahydrofuran; ketones such as acetone, ethylmethyl ketone, and cyclohexanone; esters such as acetone
• oxoalcohols and their ethoxylation products having 3 to about 14 ethylene oxide units
• fatty alcohols and their ethoxylation products olefins and their sulfonated derivatives such as C 9 -C 12 -a-olefin sulfonate, for example in the form of the sodium salt
• fatty alcohol ether sulfates such as sulfated C 12 -C 15 -alcohols, condensed with ethylene oxide.
• fatty acid alkanolamides such as C 16 -C 18 -fatty acid ethanolamide
• alkylphenol compounds such as octylphenol and ethoxylated derivatives thereof, such as nonylphenol ethoxylate with 8-9 moles of ethylene oxide.
• mixtures of organic liquids can be of advantage.
• liquids of formula II are toluene and styrene.
• turpentine, solvent naphtha, white spirit, aliphatic hydrocarbons, and petroleum oils are useful.
• solvent naphtha preferably between 50° C. and 180° C., and especially between 70° C. and 150° C.
• polyethylene glycols as a rule these are liquids having a molecular weight less than 110 and for the most part having a boiling point below 300° C. at normal pressure.
• the organic liquids to be used according to the invention are essentially anhydrous, i.e. as a rule they contain less than 1 percent by weight of water, and preferably not more than the usual mechanically held moisture. Drying of the liquids is carried out conventionally, for example by means of commonly used desiccants distillation, including azeotropic distillation, etc. (See Houben-Weyl, vol. I/2, pp. 765-886, Georg Thieme Verlag, 1959).
• the enzyme formulations may further contain surfactants.
• Preferred are nonionic surfactants of the type of the fatty alcohol/alkyl phenol ethoxylates (with oleocetyl-and olein-alcohol, for example); moreover, adducts of polyglycols with from 4 to 42 moles of ethylene oxide, apart from anionic types such as alkyl sulfates, alkyl ether sulfates, alkyl phosphates, alkyl ether phosphates, alkyl sulfonates and alkylaryl sulfonates.
• the amount of the surfactants generally ranges from 0.001 to 50 weight percent, and preferably from 0.005 to 20 weight percent, based on the liquid vehicle.
• the hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) of the emulsifiers (or the o/w emulsifying action) generally ranges from 8 to 18, and preferably from 9 to 15.
• HLB hydrophile-lipophile balance
• Also preferred are liquids which do mix with water, and especially liquids which are miscible with water in any ratio. On first approximation, it should be assumed that the enzymes remain completely undissolved in the liquids. The tendency to self-digestion or to decomposition of other enzymes thus is greatly minimized.
• the quantity of the liquids used is based mainly on practicality in the handling of the enzymes and is not really critical.
• the weight ratio of enzyme to liquid will not be less than 1:10, for reasons of handling ease.
• the upper limit of the weight ratio of enzyme to liquid will generally range from 1:30 to 1:500.
• a ratio of enzyme to liquid of from 1 to about 50 has proved practical.
• mixtures of the liquids recited above may be used.
• the enzymes which are essentially proteins, are added to the substantially anhydrous liquids, problems such as slow wetting and/or dispersal problems such as settling or creaming may arise.
• silicon dioxide The pyrogenic modifications of silicon dioxide are known to be prepared by gas-phase reactions, for example by flame hydrolysis or by use of an electric arc. They generally consist of spherical particles having a primary particle size from 5 to 500 nanometers. Their density is about 2.2 g/cm 3 . Such materials are available commercially under the names "Aerosil” and "Cab-o-Sil".
• clays particularly bentonite
• pectinases are adsorbed on bentonite with loss of activity.
• Kaolin and bentonite are known to form thixotropic gels with a number of polar and nonpolar organic liquids.
• the thixotropy of the gels disappears upon the addition of minor amounts of longer-chain alcohols, for example.
• clays are meant the usual aluminosilicates, and by bentonites the commercial preparations consisting mainly of montmorillonite (Al 2 O 3 ⁇ 4SiO 2 ⁇ H 2 O).
• montmorillonite Al 2 O 3 ⁇ 4SiO 2 ⁇ H 2 O
• organically activated bentonites for example, those formed by reaction of sodium montmorillonite with quaternary alkylammonium compounds. Through cation exchange, so-called organophilic bentonites, which swell in organic liquids, are formed.
• organophilic bentonites which swell in organic liquids, are formed.
• the commercial grades flakes, particle sizes ranging from 0.5 to 5 microns
• the liquids should contain from 0.1 to 3 weight percent, and preferably from 0.3 to 1 weight percent, based on the liquid , of inorganic additives. It has proved particularly advantageous to subject the inorganic addition to the enzyme concentrate, together with the liquid, to shearing action in appropriate equipment, and particularly in a dispersion mill.
• the latter may be of the commercial type. (See Ullmanns Enzyklopadie der ischen Chemie, 4th ed., vol. 1, p. 239, Verlag Chemie, 1972.)
• the rotational speed and the treating time depend mainly on the type of the equipment.
• a treating time of from 2 to 60 minutes at a peripheral speed of from 4 to 36 meters per second will serve as a guide for the action of commercial dispersing apparatus on bentonite in one of the liquids to be used in accordance with the invention.
• Propylene carbonate has been found to be a particularly effective liquid, especially in combination with silicon dioxide or with bentonite.
• the formulations of the invention are not subject to any restrictions with respect to the enzyme component, except insofar as the stability of the enzymes themselves to organic liquids such as alcohols is concerned.
• a requirement is that the organic liquid vehicle must be compatible with the end use of the enzymes. It was not to be foreseen that, by the use of inorganic dispersing agents, organic liquid carrier systems for enzymes could be prepared, which systems would in general more closely approach the ideal requirements of technology, not only from the viewpoint of physical and biological stability, but also from the point of view of ready availability.
• the vehicle contains from 1 to 10 percent by weight of hydrocarbons, and particularly branched or linear aliphatics having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms.
• hydrocarbons and particularly branched or linear aliphatics having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms.
• branched or linear aliphatics having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms.
• Illustrative of these are petroleum fractions in the boiling range of approximately 50° to 180° C. See also the above definition of liquid.
• the enzymes are primarily those which are already being used industrially or in other fields of application. (See “The Prior Art” above.)
• Pancreatin, and particularly trypsin and chymotrypsin (optimum pH range about 7 to 10);
• Pepsin (EC 3.4.23.1) (optimum pH range about 1.5 to 4.0;
• Cathepsin (EC 3.4.23.5) (optimum pH range about 4.0 to 5.0).
• bacillus species for example, B. subtilis, B. licheniformis, B. alkalophilus, B. cereus, B. natto, B. vulgatus, B. mycoides.
• streptomyces for example, Streptomyces fradiae, S. griseus, S. rectus.
• Enzymes are classified not only according to their source but also on the basis of the site of attack (exoenzymes vs. endoenzymes) and of the active site of the proteases (serine proteases, which are inhibited by diisopropyl fluorophosphate [DFP]; sulfhydril enzymes).
• enzyme activity is a function of pH.
• proteases are therefore classed as follows:
• Neutral proteases with optimum activity in the pH range from 6.0 to 9.0 and particularly neutral bacterial proteases (EC 3.4.24), which belong to the metalloenzymes, and fungal proteases such as bacillus proteases, pseudomonas proteases, streptomyces proteases, and aspergillus proteases.
• Proteases are used industrially in leather manufacture, in detergents and in cleansing, in desizing, in cheesemaking, in the tenderization of meats and in the stabilization of beer, for example.
• alkaline proteases are, in particular, the subtilisins, alkaline bacterial proteinases of the serine type, which in the pH range from 9 to 10 are stable and relatively insensitive to perborate.
• the proteolytic activity of enzymes is usually determined by the Anson hemoglobin method (M. L. Anson, J. Gen. Physiol. 22, 79 [1939 or by the Lohlein-Volhard method ("Die Lohlein-Volhard'sche Methode Kunststoff Beêt der proteolytician Aktivitat" in Gerschenbuch, Dresden/Leipzig, 1955) and in that case expressed in LVU (Lohlein-Volhard units).
• An LVU is the amount of enzyme which under the specific conditions of the method digests 1.725 mg of casein.
• units are also used in what follows which are derived from the Anson method. These units are known as "proteinase units (hemoglobin)", or U Hb .
• U Hb proteinase units
• alpha-Amylases alpha-1,4-glucosan hydrolases (EC 3.2.1.1)
• Exoamylases sacharogenic amylases
• beta-Amylases alpha-1,4-glucosanmaltohydrolases (EC 3.2.1.2)
• Alpha-amylases are known to occur in plants, for example, together with beta-amylases. They are commercially produced from pancreas and from bacterial and fungal cultures.
• bacillus species such as B. subtilis, B. mesentericus, B. polymixa, B. amyloliquefaciens and B. licheniformis; from fungi, and particularly from aspergillus species such as A. niger, A. phoenicis, A. oryzae and A. awamori; from Mucor strains such as M. rouxianus; from Rhizopus strains such as R. delemar, R. oryzae and R. japonicus; and from endomyces strains such as E. fibuliger.
• the pH optimum of alphaamylases is predominantly in the range from 4.7 to 7.2.
• Amylases find use in the food industry (see “Biotechnology” H.-J. Rehm & G. Reed, ed. , vol. 5, Verlag Chemie, 1983; “Industrial Aspects of Biochemistry”[B. Spencer, ed.], vol. 30, part I, pp. 139-186 and 213-260, Elsevier [1973]), in the liquefaction of starch, in malt production, in the production of ethanol, in desizing, in leather manufacture, etc.
• alpha-amylases can be determined, when starch is used as the substrate, by the method of Sandstedt, Kneen & Blish (Cereal Chem. 16, 172 [1939] and Technical Bulletin No. 1024, U. S. Department of Agriculture).
• the Willstatter method is used to determine the activity of pancreatic amylase. (Hoppe-Seylers, Z. physiol. Chem. 126, 143 [1923].)
• a Willstatter amylase unit is defined as 100 times the amount of enzyme which under the test conditions specified breaks down starch at such a rate that the monomolecular reaction constant is 0.01.
• lipases are carboxyl esterases which cleave glycerol ester in aqueous emulsion. Thus they differ from other carboxyl esterases which attack the substrate in aqueous solution.
• the pancreatic enzyme complex contains, apart from lipases, mostly esterases as well as proteases and amylases as commercially important companion enzymes.
• the pH optimum (for olive oil) is in the range from 7 to 8.5, with the range of activity extending from pH 6.5 to 9.5.
• Lipases are generally highly-unstable, especially to proteolytic breakdown by companion proteases.
• Microbiological lipases for example, from Pseudcmonas fragii, Aspergillus species (e.g., A. luchuensis, Candida cylindracea, Geotrichum candidum, Humicola lanuginosa, Mucor pusillum, Penicillium species (e.g., P. chrysogenum, P. oxalicum), and Rhizopus species (R. nigricans, R. oryzea).
• Pseudcmonas fragii Aspergillus species
• Aspergillus species e.g., A. luchuensis, Candida cylindracea, Geotrichum candidum, Humicola lanuginosa, Mucor pusillum, Penicillium species (e.g., P. chrysogenum, P. oxalicum), and Rhizopus species (R. nigricans, R. oryzea).
• lipases generally have at least one pH optimum at a pH above 7.0. To the extent that their instability permits it, lipases find use in waste disposal, in leather manufacture and in the food industry, for example.
• microorganisms for example, from Micrococcus lysodeicticus.
• Catalases are used in peroxide bleaching and in the milk industry.
• cellulase is an enzyme complex whose components successively take part in the breakdown of native cellulose.
• Cellulases are found in insects, mollusks and microorganisms (bacteria, mold fungi). Commercially utilized sources of cellulases are particularly aspergillus, neurospora, rhizopus, trichoderma and trametes strains.
• Enzyme preparations are further used to dissolve untanned machine trimmings and other byproducts of leather manufacture (U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,721, Swiss patent 631,486, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,293,647 and 4,220,723), keratin-containing raw stock (U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,123), elastin-containing preparations (U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,333); for working up collagen-containing raw stock (U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,714), etc.
• liquid enzyme formulations in accordance with the present claims may be used in the various operations of leather manufacture (see Ullmanns Enzyklopadie der ischen Chemie, 3rd ed., vol. 11, p. 609, Urban/Schwarzenberg; Ullmanns Enzyklopadie der ischen Chemie, 4th ed., vol. 16, pp. 111-174, Verlag Chemie, 1978; F. Stather, Gerschenemie und Gerbereitechnologie, 4th ed., Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1967), namely:
• the soaking of hide stock, in which the hardening of the, hides, or skins, resulting from salt curing is reversed, is usually carried out at a pH between 7.0 and 10.0.
• the concurrent use of enzymes, and particularly of proteolytic enzymes accelerates the softening action through "digestion” of the water-soluble and other albumins which are not a part of the collagenous fiber structure of the hide.
• enzymes whose range of activity (or pH optimum of the proteolytic activity) falls between pH 7.00 and 10.0 are employed in soaking. Removal of the noncollagenous albumins assures faster and more intensive wetting of the hide.
• the soak water is advantageously made slightly alkaline; however, the pH value should always remain below 12.
• soaking aids such as monoethanolamine with an antiseptic such as zephyrol or naphthalenesulfonic acid in combination with substituted phenols; highly sulfonated ricinoleic acid butyl ester with a methylcyclohexanol mixture fatty alkyl sulfates with solvents.
• suitable enzymatic additives for the inventive liquid enzyme formulations are the proteases listed under (A) above, and particularly those named under (A) (c), and more particularly microbial proteases active in the pH range from 4 to 9.5, especially fungal proteinases from aspergillus species such as A. saitoi and A. usamii, for example, and particularly acid proteinases with activity in the pH range from 2.5 to 4.5; also those from A. oryzae active in the pH range from 4.0 to 9.5, and those from A. niger and A. flavus active in the pH range from 9.5 to 11.0.
• the concentration of proteolytic activities of the proteinases used generally ranges from 0.1 to 1.0 Anson units, or from 1,000 to 3,000 LVU, per liter of soak liquor.
• the soak liquors may, further contain amylases according to (B) above.
• Amylases occur as companion enzymes of fungal proteinases. They promote the cleavage of glucosidic bonds in the proteoglycans and glycoproteins of the hide.
• amylases of microbial origin and more particularly those from aspergillus species such as A. oryzae and A. niger, especially those active in the pH range from 3.0 to 5.8. Suited for use are also those of bacterial origin, for example, those derived from Bacillus subtilis, B. mesentericus and B. polymixa with activity in the pH range from 5.0 to 7.0.
• the glycolytic activity of amylases ranges from 500 to 2,000 SKB.
• the temperature of the soak liquors is advantageously higher than 20° C.
• the soaking duration should be as short as possible and generally is between 4 and 36 hours.
• lime liquors are used most often.
• sharpened lime liquors preferably a combination of calcium hydroxide and sodium sulfide
• swelling-inhibiting liming aids such as wetting agents, and particularly cationic wetting agents, in combination with monoethanolamine and disinfectants, for example, quaternary alkyldimethylbenzylammonium compounds, or dialkylamine and its sulfate.
• enzymes which in this pH range remain sufficiently stable may be used in addition to the usual liming chemicals. Soaking and liming may be combined by gradually increasing the pH value and using appropriate enzymes.
• the hide, freed of curing salt may first be pretreated in the acid pH range with substances cleaving disulfide bridges, and then hair loosening and opening up may be brought about simultaneously without prior soaking by the use of proteases active in the alkaline range at a pH of about 11 to 13. This is then followed by the further processing steps (III) and optionally (IV) usually carried out in the beamhouse. It is advisable to use in the beamhouse operations (II) alkaline bacterial proteinases (serine proteases), for example, from B. subtilis. B. licheniformis, B. firmus, B. alcalophilus, B. polymixa and B. mesentericus.
• alkaline bacterial proteinases serine proteases
• proteases generally have an activity ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 LVU per gram. They are advantageously used in amounts of from 0.1 to 10 weight percent, and preferably from 1 to 5 weight percent, based on the weight of the salted hides and skins (raw weight).
• the enzymatic reaction in unhairing and opening up is carried out at about 18 to 28° C.
• the reaction time generally ranges from 12 to 24 hours, and more particularly from 12 to 16 hours.
• Unhairing or dewooling can also be performed with alkaline fungal proteinases of the above type (i), for example, with aspergillus proteases, and particularly with those from A. niger and A. flavus which are active in the pH 9.5 to 11.0 range.
• alkaline fungal proteinases of the above type (i) for example, with aspergillus proteases, and particularly with those from A. niger and A. flavus which are active in the pH 9.5 to 11.0 range.
• the enzymatic unhairing method of German patent 34 29 047 in which hides and skins are treated in a liquor in the pH range from 9 to 11 with proteolytic enzymes having optimum activity in the pH range from 2 to 7.5, may be employed, unhairing being then carried out.
• the enzymes used then are proteases of the above type (iii), and particularly from A. oryzea, A. saitoi, A. parasiticus, A. usamii and A. awamori, from Paelomyces species, Penicillium species or also Rhizopus species and/or from Mucor pusillus as well as the acid proteases listed under (A) (a) and (A) (b) above.
• the activity generally ranges from 50 to 200 mU Hb .
• Deliming and bating are preferably carried out with the aid of enzymes.
• Deliming serves to reduce the alkalinity of the pelts from a pH value between 13 and 14 to a pH of from 7 to 8.
• Deliming is preferably done, not with strongly dissociated but with weak organic acids of the type of the dicarboxylic acids, Or then with weakly acid salts.
• residues of epidermis, hair and pigments should be removed and further opening up should be brought about.
• noncollagenous albumin constituents should be removed. (See Ullmanns, 4th ed., vol. 16, loc. cit., pp. 119-120.)
• Bating is carried out conventionally at pH 7.5 to 8.5.
• the use of cyclic carbonates in deliming is known from German patent 31 08 428.
• the duration of the bate as a rule is between 1 and 6 hours, preferably 1-2 hours as a short bate.
• the proteases can be used in such amount that from 1 to 10 Lohlein-Volhard units are present per gram of pelt weight.
• the temperature is advantageously between 25° C. and 35° C., preferably 30° C.
• Any conventional commercial tanning vessel such as a drum, paddle-vat, mixer, or tanning machine can be used (See O'Flaherty et al., The Chemistry and Technology of Leather, vol. 1, ACS Monograph Series, Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York 1956).
• Lipases according to (C) above for example, pancreatic lipases exhibiting activity in the pH 7.0 to 9.0 range, may be used concurrently in bating.
• Amylases according to (B) above for example, pancreatic amylases which are active at a pH of from 5.5 to 8.5 and promote the cleavage of glycoside linkages in bating, will also exert a beneficial influence on bating, particularly as companion enzymes of trypsin and chymotrypsin.
• the pelt for mineral tanning has to be acidified, that is, its pH has to be reduced from about 8 to the 3 to 4 range. This is done in the pickle liquor, which is an acid/salt solution in water, for example, sulfuric acid or formic acid together with sodium chloride.
• mold tryptases for example, optionally together with carbohydrate-splitting enzymes, derived in particular from bacteria or from mold fungi.
• inventive liquid enzyme formulations offer a generally applicable solution, not likely to give rise to difficulties, to the problem of making use of liquid enzyme formulations, which is often desirable. Being able to combine enzymes with other components which in an aqueous medium and on prolonged exposure would interfere with enzyme activity is a further advantage. This is true particularly of the ability to combine different enzymes, for example, proteases, not only with amylases, lipases, etc., but also with hydrotropes such as urea, guanidine salts, cumene sulfonate, etc.
• water soluble salts such as ammonium sulfate or sodium sulfate which are commonly added to powdered enzymes as diluents and/or stabilizers can be dispensed with in the preparations of the invention.
• Nonliquid components amount to only a fraction of those present in conventional preparations.
• the salt content of prior art products is responsible for a number of leather imperfections which, thus, can be avoided using the new preparations.
• the invention permits the combination of enzymes with one another, with further treating agents, with activators, and the like, which are incompatible in aqueous concentrates.
• the enzyme concentration in the preparations of the invention can extend over a wide range.
• the preparations of the invention are very stable. For instance, a combination of fungus proteases and pancreatic enzymes is still stable after 6 months' storage. The danger of contamination, for instance with microorganisms, is minimized. The need for anti-fungal or anti-bacterial protection is unnecessary. In aqueous liquid enzyme preparations, the stabilizing agents which are employed adversely affect enzyme activity.
• Uniform enzyme activity experience, especially in the area of conventional leather preparation, has shown that the use of enzymes leads to defects in the product if the enzyme activity is non-uniform, as, for example, in the use of solid enzyme preparations.
• the liquid preparations of the invention can be dispersed more uniformly and more rapidly.
• auxiliaries desired in the final product such as builders, polyphosphates, or zeolites, can be dispersed in the liquid organic carrier together with the enzyme, which is not possible using an aqueous phase.
• Stability to creaming and settling in contrast to enzyme preparations in which, for example, a crystalline enzyme is preserved in an organic liquid such as toluene, whereby the enzyme, for example a pancreatic enzyme, usually settles on the floor of the container, the invention makes available stable enzyme dispersions in which the stabilizer in no way adversely affects the enzyme activity.
• a fungal protease concentrate derived from Aspergillus parasiticus (150,000 LVU; pH optimum, 7.5 to 9) and 1.48 g of a pancreatic enzyme preparation (220,000 LVU; pH optimum, 6 to 8) are added. Dispersing is then continued at constant rotative speed, care being taken to not exceed a temperature of 40° C.
• the end product has an activity of 1,000 LVU and exhibits no loss of activity after 4 weeks at 20° C. No creaming or settling of the enzyme is observed in the product.
• the dispersing conditions (rotative speed) and the type of the organically modified bentonite have to be adjusted according to the type of the solvent, the particle size, and the concentration of the enzyme concentrate.
• the dispersion is allowed to stand for 24 hours. Under the above dispersing conditions, 18.5 g of a neutral protease from a Bacillus subtilis strain (70,000 LVU/g; pH optimum, 5.5 to 7) is added. Dispersing is continued for another 5 minutes. The end product has an activity of 1,300 LVU. After 5 weeks, no loss of activity is evident from the LVU measurement.
• the liquid enzyme formulation remains homogeneous; there is no settling or creaming.
• the hides After a soaking time of 5 hours, the hides have been completely soaked back and are at the same time ready for hair loosening. A large portion of the natural fat in the hides is emulsified in the soak liquor.
• the hides soaked in the above manner are limed by prior-art methods and processed further into crust leather for shoes.
• 1,000 g of petroleum, boiling point 110° to 130° C., is heated to 40° C. and after the addition of an organically modified bentonite (e.g., "MPA-X-2000" of Kronos Titan, Leverkusen) dispersed for 10 minutes. Then 2.5 g of an acid fungal protease from Aspergillus parasiticus (80,000 LVU/g; pH optimum, 3.5 to 5) are added and dispersing is continued for another 5 minutes.
• an organically modified bentonite e.g., "MPA-X-2000" of Kronos Titan, Leverkusen
• a liquid enzyme formulation having an activity of 200 LVU is obtained which after 4 weeks at 20° C. exhibits no loss of activity.
• the solution is homogeneous and neither creams nor settles.
• the pelts are well degreased and loosened due to the action of the enzyme/surfactant/petroleum combination.
• depickling tanning agents may be added to a replenished or fresh liquor and the stock may then be processed further conventionally.
• a non-ionic anhydrous wetting agent prepared from nonyl phenol plus 8.5 mol of ethylene oxide and 12 g of fumed silica (Aerosil 380® product of Degussa, Hanau, West Germany) are mixed together with 5 g of a surface active agent (Borchigen STL®, based on modified fatty acid, product of Borchers GmbH, Goslar, W.-Germany) in a stirring vessel.
• the mixture is dispersed for 15 minutes with a toothed-disk agitator at a rotative speed of 15-18 m/sec.
• Liquid, biodegradable heavy-duty detergent 466 g of 1,2-propylene glycol * and 400 g of nonionic surfactant (Marlipal® 013-90, isotridecyl alkohol plus 9 moles of ethylene oxide, product of Chemische Werke Huls AG, W.-Germany), 100 g of ethyl alcohol (98%) plus 10 g of fumed silica (Aerosil 380®, product of Degussa AG, W.-Germany) and 4 g of a surface active agent (modified and etherified fatty acid Borchigen STL®,product of Borchers GmbH, Goslar, W.-Germany) are mixed and dispersed in a stirring vessel using a toothed disk agitator for 15 minutes at a rotative speed of 15-18 m/sec. The viscosity of the liquid was found to be 1 250 mPas. The following components are added and are actively dispersed in the order
• Liquid enzyme composition for the soaking of hides and skins
• ethylene carbonate 300 g of methyl ethylketone and 264 of nonionic surfactant (C 16 -C 18 fatty alcohol condensed with 9 moles ethylene oxide) are mixed and warmed to 40° C. in a stirring vessel. Then 10 g of fumed silica (Aerosil 380®) and 6 g of Borchigen STL® (see example Q) are added. The mixture is dispersed by means of a toothed-disk agitator at 15-18 m/sec for 15 minutes. The viscosity rises from 60 mPas to 1040 mPas.
• nonionic surfactant C 16 -C 18 fatty alcohol condensed with 9 moles ethylene oxide
• pancreatic enzyme concentrate activity 40 000 LVE/g
• pancreatic enzyme concentrate activity 40 000 LVE/g
• Activity after this period was found to be 760 LVE (Original activity was 800 LVE/g).

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• 1987
  • 1987-02-13 DE DE3704465A patent/DE3704465C2/de not_active Revoked
• 1988
  • 1988-01-26 SE SE8800238A patent/SE500913C2/sv unknown
  • 1988-02-03 US US07/152,020 patent/US5102422A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1988-02-05 CH CH410/88A patent/CH677798A5/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1988-02-08 ES ES8800351A patent/ES2008974A6/es not_active Expired
  • 1988-02-10 WO PCT/DE1988/000061 patent/WO1988006183A1/de active IP Right Grant
  • 1988-02-10 BR BR8805403A patent/BR8805403A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
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• 1989
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